Emerging from stealth, SAPI secures £7.5M equity fundraising for small business lending

UK fintech SAPI, which seeks to transform the small business lending landscape, has closed a £7.5 million equity fundraising round. SAPI – which stands for ‘Securities API’ – enables payment companies to offer business loans and other financing products to their clients, earning a revenue share while growing their payment ecosystem. 

Co-founder and CEO Mai Le said:

“Our mission is to drive the growth of small businesses. We help payment companies build stronger ties with their client base and establish win-win relationships.” 

After several years in stealth mode, SAPI has emerged with a number of prominent partnerships currently being kept under NDA, sources close to the company said.

Robert Dighero, co-founder and partner at Passion Capital, who backed the company for the third time, remarked:

"SAPI has emerged as a key player in empowering small businesses — a sector that the pandemic highlighted as the backbone of our economy. We see SAPI evolving into an essential part of the UK and European financing ecosystem."

Other high-profile backers include:

• Tom Blomfield, founder of Monzo and GoCardless.
• Martin Kissinger, founder of Lendable.
• Luca Martinetti, co-founder and CTO of TrueLayer.
• Raffaele Terrone, co-founder of Scalapay.
• Lopo Champalimaud, founder of Treatwell.
• Oscar Pierre, founder of Glovo.
• Niccolò Maisto and Michele Attisani, co-founders of FACEIT.
• Will Neale, founder of Fonix Mobile and Grabyo.

Sources have also indicated that the £7.5 million funding round was put together entirely by existing shareholders, all of whom have reinvested for the third time at an increased valuation.

 Lendable founder Martin Kissinger stated:

 “I invested in SAPI because of their exceptional founding team. They have strong technical expertise and genuinely innovate in the embedded finance sector, providing much-needed financing for business owners.

I believe in their vision and am excited to be part of their journey.” 

The new capital will be used to onboard new strategic partners, improve the company's product offerings, and scale its presence in Europe.

Lead image: SAPI. Photo: Zapeed M.